Lando Norris And Yuki Tsunoda's Sprint Race Ruined By Weird FIA Ruling

A strange loophole in the rules have affected both drivers' chances of qualifying close to the front.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend is the debut of a completely new format for the sprint weekend. The idea splits the Sunday's Grand Prix and the Saturday's sprint race, making them two separate events that don't affect each other. But with an extra qualifying session over the weekend because of this, some drivers are getting a little low on their tyre allocation. This has meant that, specifically, Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda have had their sprint race ruined. And the reasoning is mad. 

The qualifying session for the sprint race, known as the 'shoot-out', features a Q1, Q2, and Q3, with each shorter than the last. And to add to the confusion, each section will have to use a certain grade of tyre: medium, medium, and soft, respectively. 

But both Norris and Tsunoda have used their new soft tyres? Unfortunately for them, this means that if they do get to Q3, they won't be able to take part. Not even with scrubbed soft tyres. Of course, both drivers knew this at the time and accepted the sacrifice they were going to make to get ahead in the Grand Prix. 

The FIA has tried to reverse this, but teams have fought against it, arguing that some drivers would gain an advantage from having an extra set of softs. 

Yet more drama from this race weekend, but for the sake of Yuki and Lando's sanity, I hope they don't make it ot Q3.